(Minghui.org) A Dalian City, Liaoning Province resident was sentenced to four years and fined 40,000 yuan on August 30, 2022 for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yu Shoufen was out at a local beach talking to people about Falun Gong on February 9, 2022. She approached a young father in his 30s, who was playing with his child. She never knew that the man, named Li Pengfei, was a police officer. As soon as she talked to Li, he reported her to the Xigang Police Station where he worked. Before his colleagues arrived, he held Ms. Yu to the ground with his leg against her chest, almost suffocating her.
That same day, the police ransacked Ms. Yu’s home and confiscated her laptop, a media player, and some informational materials about Falun Gong.
The police held Ms. Yu at the Yaojia Detention Center and denied her any family visits. The Xigang District Procuratorate approved her arrest on March 30 and later moved her case to the Ganjingzi District Procuratorate. She was indicted by prosecutor Ji Xiaohui in early June and had her case forwarded to the Ganjingzi District Court.
When Ms. Yu’s lawyer contacted judge Jin Hua about her case, Jin refused to reveal when he planned to hold a hearing of the case. Jin didn’t tell Ms. Yu that her family had hired a lawyer for her, but asked her whether she would accept a court-appointed lawyer. Ms. Yu refused Jin’s offer upon learning that the court-appointed lawyer wouldn’t enter a not guilty plea for her.
Without informing Ms. Yu’s lawyer or her family members, Jin held a hearing of Ms. Yu’s case on July 21 and sentenced her a month later.
In the past 23 years of persecution, at least 100,000 Falun Gong practitioners in Dalian have been targeted for their faith. Thousands have been held in detention centers and brainwashing centers. Over 800 were incarcerated in forced labor camps and more than 300 were sentenced to prison. At least 147 practitioners are known to have died as a result of the persecution.
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